Flash tube igniter for burners at different levels



R. S. TAYLOR July 22, 1952 FLASH TUBE IGNITER FOR BURNERS AT DIFFERENTLEVELS Filed Oct. 17, 1944 Patented July 22, 1952 FLASH TUBE IGNITER FORBUENERS AT DIFFERENT LEVELS Robert S. Taylor, Evansville, Ind., assignorto Servel, Inc., New York, N. Y., a corporation of Delaware ApplicationOotober 17, 194.4, Serial n 5.5 58

My inve on re ates to gas igniters and more particularly to gas igniterswherein a single 0. 1- stantlysburning pilot light is utilized to ignitegas at the oven and broiler burners as well as at the cooking topburners of a domestic gas range.

In the lighting of the several burners of a gas range, it is desirableto use a single constantlyburning pilot in order to reduce gasconsumption. However, when the oven and broiler burners are located anappreciable distance below the top burners, which is the usualarrangement it has been a problem to design a reliable and efficientsystem offlash tubes that Will ignite the several burners from a singlepilot; consequently, separate pilots or electrical ignition means haveusually been provided for the different burners.

It is an object of my invention to provide a system of flash tubeswhereby all of the burners-of a gas range, though located at differentelevations, may be ignited by a single pilot.

It is a further object of my invention to P170- vide a system of flashtubes whereby a combustible air-gas mixture is drawn from severalburners, located at different elevations, to a single pilot forignition, whereupon a flash-back occurs through the different flashtubes to ignite the several burners.

It is a further object of my invention to provide a constantly-burningpilot for igniting the several burners of a gas range, and ofeliminating the usual hot spot that a constantly-burning pilot generallyproduces in the cooking top of such range.

These and other objects and advantages of my invention will become moreapparent when considered in connection with the following descriptionand accompanying drawing, wherein:

Fig. l is a View partly in side elevation and partly in vertical sectionthrough a gas range in.- corporating one embodiment of my invention;

Fig. 2 is a front view of the gas range illus trated in Fig. l andshowing my improved system of flash tubes in brokenlines;

Fig. 3 is a vertical view, partly in' section, of a second embodiment ofmy invention;

Fig. 4 is a sectional view taken on line 4 -4 of Fig. 3. I

Referring now to Figs. 1 and 2 of the drawing, 5 0 designates generallya table- -top cooking range provided with a working top ll four1topburner 4 Claims. (01. 158-415) 2 i I control valve 2| operated by a hanle 22. T oven burner I6 is provided with a mixing tube 23, a gas supplyconduit 24, a safety cut-out valve 25, controlled by a thermal element26 which is heated by a pilot 21, and a gas supply conduit 28 equippedwith a suitable manually-actuated valve, not shown. The broiler burneri8 is provided with a mixing tube 29, a gas supply conduit 3G, a safetycutout valve 3t, controlled by a thermal elem nt 52 Which is heated. bya pilot 33, and a gas supply conduit 3. 1, which is also equipped with amanually-operated valve; not shown. The above-describedstructurerepresents a more or less conventional domestic cooking range with whichmy improved burner igniter is adapted to be incorporated.

. One embodiment of my improved burner igniter comprises aconstantly-burning pilot located in the lower part of an insulated flue36, which in turn is located in the central portion of the back guard l3directly beneath venting louvers 31. The flash tubes 38, 3B, 38" and 33lead from the top burners l4, l4, l4" and 4', respectively, and convergein the lower front portion of the flue 35 in the immediate vicinity ofviewed in Fig. 2. A'similar flash tube 40 leads grates l2, a back guard13, four top burners I 4,

54', I4" and I4, an oven 15, an oven burner I5, a broiler l1, and abroiler burner l8. The top burners l4, l4, l4" and M' are each providedwith a mixing tube 19, a gas supply conduit 20 leading from aconventional manifold 20, and a from the broiler burner pilot 33 and isconnected to the lower left side of the flue 36. The flash tubes'38,38', 38", 38", 39 and 46 are so dimensioned and arrangedthat theresistance to flow is substantially the same through each of thesetubes. In other words, the chimney effect produced by the flue 35 shouldbe distributed more or less uniformly between the several flash tubes.In operation, the constantly-burning pilot 35 having been ignited theproducts of combustion therefrom pass upward through'the flue 36producing a chimney effect in said flue. The heat from saidconstantly-burning pilot which is not dissipated by the flue, passeswith the products of combustion out through the louvers ,3! in the topcentral portion of the back guard l3. By this arrangement, the heatproduced by the constantly-burning pilot 35 is either dissipated by thefine 36 or it passes harmlessly through the louvers 3i and does notproduce a hot spot as is usual with a constantly burning pilot locateddirectly beneath the top working surface of a conventional gas range.Furthermore: by arranging the constantly-burning pilot in a flue itisprotected from drafts which might otherwise extinguish its flame, j

Assume now that the oven burner IB isto be lighted, the oven controlvalve, not shown, is opened and fuel gas is supplied through conduit 28to the safety cut-out valve 25 and to the oven pilot 21. The chimneyeffect produced by the constantly-burning pilot 35 in the flue 36 drawsthe fuel gas from the oven pilot 2! and air from adjacent the lowportion of the oven flash tube 39 up through said flash tube to theconstantlyburning pilot 35 where the air-gas mixture is ignited and theflame flashes back through the flash tube 39 and ignites the gas issuingfrom the oven pilot 21. The pilot 2'! then heats the thermal element 26which causes the safety cutout valve 25 to open and supply fuel gasthrough conduit 24 and mixing tube 23 to the oven burner 16. The air-gasmixture issues from the oven burner I3 and is ignited .by the oven pilot21.

The oven pilot 2! continues to burn so long asgas is supplied theretothrough conduit 28. If the flame of the oven pilot 2! is accidentallyextinguished, it is immediately re-ignited by the constantly-burningpilot 35. If, however, the oven pilot 21 is not immediately re-ignited,the thermal element 26 cools down and closes the safety cut-out valve25. The thermal element 26 may be so arranged that so long as either theoven pilot 21 or the oven burner I6 is lighted said element will remainheated and the cut-out valve 25 will remain open. The procedure inlighting the broiler burner I8 is substantially the same as thatdescribed for the oven burner IS. In practice, the safety cut-out valvesand pilots may be eliminated from the oven and broiler burners, inwhichevent gas would be drawndirectly from the oven and broiler burners intothe flash tubes 39 and 40, respectively.

Assume now that the top burner M, for example, is to be ignited, thevalve 2l of this particular burner is manually opened'and gas passesthrough conduit into mixing tube I9, where it is mixed with air, and theair-gas mixture issues from the top burner 14'. As this air-gas mixtureissues from top burner 14 some of it is drawn into and through the flashtube 38' to the constantly-burning pilot 35 by the chimney efiect of theflue 36, where it is ignited and the flame flashes back through theflash tube 38' to ignite the air-gas mixture issuing from the burner M.The procedurein lighting the other top burners is substantiallyidentical with that described for the top burner l4.

Referring now to Figs. 3 and 4 of the drawing, wherein a secondembodiment of my'inventio-n is illustrated, 35' designates aconstantly-burning pilot and 36' an insulated flue, generally similar tothe pilot 35 and .the flue 36, respectively, of Figs. 1 and 2. Six flashtubes 4|, 42, 43, 44, 45 and 46, corresponding generally to the flashtubes 38, 38, 38", 38, 39 and 40, respectively, of Figs. 1 and 2 areprovided, each having one of its ends arranged in the flue 36', itsopposite end terminating near a burner in the same manner as thecorresponding flash tubes of Figs. 1 and 2, and each provided with asmall'opening 41 in the immediate vicinity of the constantly-burningpilot 35'. The arrangement is such that the constantly-burning pilot 35'heats the portions of the flash tubes which are located in the flue 36to produce a chimney eifect in each of,these,

tubes to thereby draw an air-gas mixture from their respective burners,or pilots, up to the constantly-burning pilot 35 where said air-gasmixture is ignited and the flame flashed back to fere with the upwarddraft in the tubes and yet large enough for the air-gas mixture to beignited at these openings and flash back through the tubes to therespective burners. In other re spects, the arrangement of theconstantly-burn- .ing pilot 35', the flue 36, the different burners,

the pilots, and the different flash tubes leading from the burners up tothe flue 36' is the same with the second embodiment of my invention aswith the first embodiment illustrated in Figs. 1 and 2. Therefore,further discussion of this second embodiment is deemed unnecessary.

While I have illustrated and described but two specific embodiments ofmy invention, it obviously may take other forms and it may have otheruses. My invention, therefore, is limited only by the following claims.

What I claim is:

1. An igniter for a gas range equipped with a back guard, top burners,an oven burner and a broiler burner, said igniter comprising a pilotlocated directly beneath said back guard, at flue arranged above saidpilot within said back guard, and a plurality of flash tubes each havingone end located in the immediate vicinity of one of said burners andeach having its opposite end terminating in the lower portion of saidflue immediately adjacent the pilot, thereby producing a chimney effectin each of said flash tubes whereby an air-gas mixture is drawn throughsaid flash tubes to said pilot to be ignited thereby and the flameflashed back through said flash tubes to ignite said burners.

2. An igniter for a plurality of gas burners located at differentelevations, said igniter comprising a flue, a pilot arranged in a lowerportion of said flue, and a plurality of flash tubes each having one endoperatively associated with one of said plurality of gas burners andeach having its opposite end terminating in the lower portion of saidflue, said flue being of such height that products of combustion fromsaid pilot in passing upwardly therethrough produce a chimney efiect ofsuch intensity in said-flash tubes that an air-gas mixture is drawn fromsaid gas burners through said flash tubes to said pilot.

3. An igniter for a plurality of gas burners, said igniter comprising apilot, a flue having a lower portion thereof surrounding said pilot, anda plurality of flash tubes each having one end operatively associatedwith one of said gas burners and each having its opposite end openinginto the lower portion of said flue, said flue being of such height thata chimney effect of such intensity is produced in each of said flashtubes that an air-gas mixture is drawn from said gas burners throughsaid flash tubes to said pilot 4. An igniter for a plurality of gasburners located at different elevations, said igniter comprising a pilotlocated below certain of said plurality of gas burners and above certainother of said plurality of gas burners, a flue having a lower portionthereof surrounding said pilot, and a plurality of flash tubes, oneleading from each of said burners and each having one end operativelyassociated with said flue in the immediate vicinity of said pilot, saidflue being of such height that a chimney effect of such intensity isproduced in each of said flash tubes that an air-gas mixture is drawnfrom said gas burners through said flash tubes to said pilot.

ROBERTS. TAYLOR.

(References on followingl e) REFERENCES CITED The following referencesare of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,937,658 Leins Dec. 5, 19332,073,966 Kahn Mar. 16, 1937 2,096,363 Methudy Oct. 19, 1937 NumberNumber

